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Cross-reference links (e.g., table of content, table of figures) not clickable when export/save as PDF in Word 2019 (Windows 10)

Anonymous
2021-10-13T04:43:34+00:00

Hi,

Converting a Word file to a well-formatted PDF with functional cross-reference links was easy in the past. The built-in function "export-create PDF/XPS" or "save as PDF" works well until this month (Oct. 2021). I used to export PDF documents on regular basis, however, I found the built-in export/save as function stops creating PDF with clickable cross-reference links any more. The table of content (TOC) becomes plain texts along with all the cross-references embedded. On the contrary, the http hyperlinks pointing to websites still work.

When I check my previous PDFs, I found that as late as Aug. 2021, the export/save as function still produced a PDF with clickable TOC. As a control test, I opend the very same Word file (the August one) and try export it again. Guess what? The cross-reference links broke just like any other files. This indicates that this phenomenon seems to be related to an update of Word (or Windows) within the past 2 months.

I'm looking for a solution to get this function back to normal. Anyone bumps into the same issue like mine? How do you fix it?

My environment:

Word version 2019 (build 14430.20270 Click-to-Run)

Windows 10 Pro 20H2 19042.1237 (Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3530.0)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows

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  1. Charles Kenyon 166.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-21T03:02:56+00:00

    As of this evening, Doug Robbins reported that it is working. I can confirm.

    Here, the links in the pdf are working when the document is saved as a pdf from Word Version 2109 (Build 14430.20306 Click-to-Run) Current Channel.

    Same for me, same release, in Office 365, 32-bit version. (Doug is using the 64-bit version.)

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-14T22:15:26+00:00

    If you upload a copy of the document to the following folder of my OneDrive

    https://1drv.ms/f/s!AmuIXmFDy-1a8nP3RpgnYHp-5zXK

    I will see what I can do with it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-10-14T07:44:51+00:00

    This workaround hasn't worked for me - I get an error message saying it can't convert. When I tried editing the document to see if any other features work, it tells me the document is too big to edit, so this might be why it won't pdf. The document is 356 mb. Please advise.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-10-14T05:19:04+00:00

    As a workaround, upload the document to OneDrive and open it in Word Online and then from there, download it as a pdf.

    Thank you Doug that worked for me - no idea why.

    I hope Microsoft will soon resolve the problem properly however, I had a stressful morning trying to fix this myself.

    Regards

    Catherine

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-10-13T09:18:36+00:00

    Hi Doug,

    Thanks for your reply. I'm looking forwards to the investigation result from the product team.

    Nidor Huang.

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